Hidden Truths
by Teena M
Summary: Fluff. Cute, sappy, nearly pointless, FLUFF. Ash and Gary, sitting by a lake, k-i-s-s-i-n-g. ...I stink at summaries. (Shishi, a.k.a YAOI)


TeenMisty: Wheee! I'm feeling inspired! Shishi alert! Yaoi, well, shonen  
-ai, really, but... Anyway, besides that, there is sap, mild angst, etc.  
  
Pikachu: Kapipi, pika chupi pi pikachu.  
  
TeenMisty: I'll get to the story in a minute! I have to have a disclaimer.  
  
Mew: /I'll do it. TeenMisty does not own Pokemon or any of the characters,  
she is making no profit from this fic, she's just doing it for fun. I can   
relate to that.../  
  
  
Hidden Truths  
  
  
After all this time, Ash had finally made it to the Pokemon League. The  
opening ceremonies had been earlier, and the first battles would occur   
in the morning. Ash, Misty, Brock, and Pikachu were in the village,   
looking around. Ash was ahead of the others, bouncing around excitedly.  
Misty sighed. "Ash, calm down! You're going to run into someone!"  
  
Ash looked back to retort, and while he wasn't looking, he did, indeed,  
run into someone, knocking them both down. The someone spoke up with a   
familiar, arrogant voice. "Watch where you're going, jari-booie!"  
  
"Gary! Of all the people to run into, it had to be you!" Ash complained.  
  
Gary sneered at him as they both stood up and brushed themselves off.  
"I'm surprised you actually made it this far, Ashie-boy. On time, too.   
I, the great Gary Oak, naturally had no problem, but a pathetic little  
loser like you, who couldn't even show up on time to get his starting  
Pokemon..."  
  
Ash interrupted, his eyes narrowed in a glare aimed at his hated rival.  
"Shut up, Gary! I'm not a loser, you're just a jerk! I don't have to  
stay here and listen to this!"  
  
With that, Ash took off at a run, leaving behind both Gary, and his   
friends. Misty, Brock, and Pikachu took off after him, but lost him in  
the maze of streets and alleys that made up the village. The three   
sighed and gave up, heading back to the hotel they were staying at to   
wait for him.  
  
Behind them, Gary hid a smile, and headed back to his own hotel, where  
he could ditch the cheerleaders.  
  
A short time later, Ash skipped a stone across the surface of a quiet,  
secluded lake screened by trees. He'd been waiting for more than five   
minutes. What was taking him so long? Turning around, he noticed a   
shadowed form standing under a tree. Ash smiled, then pretended to glare  
at the hidden figure. "What took you so long? I thought I was the one who  
was late all the time?"  
  
Gary stepped out of the shadows with a chuckle. "You are. I'm only late  
some of the time."  
  
"Jerk."  
  
"Loser."  
  
Both boys laughed, and Gary walked over to stand next to Ash. "How long  
have you been waiting?"  
  
Ash shrugged. "I dunno, six, seven minutes, maybe a bit longer. You know,  
you're some actor, Shigeru." Ash used the private name Gary had, that was  
just for the two of them. "Even I almost bought that act back there, and  
I know better."  
  
Gary smirked, and replied, in a lofty voice. "Naturally. I, the great   
Gary Oak, can do anything."  
  
Ash laughed and sat down on a log near the water. Gary settled next to   
him and put an arm around him. Ash laid his head down on Gary's   
shoulder. "Geru-kun..."  
  
"What is it, Sato-kun?"  
  
"Do you ever wonder if this is the right thing to do? All the pretending?  
I mean, Brock and Misty are like my brother and sister, but I can't tell  
them the truth."  
  
Gary shot him a sideways glance. "Misty's like your sister? I didn't   
know you grew up in an abusive family, Sato-kun."  
  
Ash rolled his eyes. "I didn't, and you should know. You were over my  
house often enough when we were kids."  
  
"I hate to break this to you, Satoshi, but we're still kids."  
  
"Stop teasing. You know what I mean. Anyway, you're changing the subject.  
I'm not as dumb as I act. When you're not comfortable with a discussion,  
you try to turn it to something else. I'm not letting you do it this time.  
I wanna know."  
  
Gary sighed and dropped the teasing. His face grew serious. "Honestly?  
Yeah, I do wonder, a lot. I get tired of the constant act, of all the   
pretending. But I keep going. We don't know how our families would   
react, so the alternative could be worse. Why are you bringing this up  
now?"  
  
Ash stood up, hanging his head. "Brock and Misty. Misty's practically  
my best friend, next to you, and I've never liked keeping secrets. And,  
well, Brock's been hinting for a while that Misty and me should get   
together, but..."  
  
"But you don't swing that way, and you wish you could tell him that, but  
you're scared."  
  
Ash nodded. Gary got up, too, and put his arms around Ash, kissing him  
on the forehead. "I guess the question here is, how much do you trust  
your friends?"  
  
"I trust them with my life! Heck, they've SAVED my life more than once!"  
  
"Sato-kun, trusting someone with your life can be MUCH easier than   
trusting them with your heart."  
  
"...Yeah. I'll think about it. This isn't something to decide on impulse.  
Like I said, I don't like keeping secrets, but I have to be sure about  
this."  
  
Gary grinned at him. "Speaking of secrets, when are you gonna tell Misty  
that you have enough money to get her a new bike?"  
  
Ash laughed. "Who says I'm ever gonna tell her? You never know, when I   
take away her excuse for tagging along, she might decide to go home  
instead of admitting we're friends. Misty has a lot of pride."  
  
"A lot of stubbornness, you mean."  
  
"That, too."  
  
They both laughed again, then sobered. Ash looked up at Gary sadly. "I   
hate this. Stealing moments when we can, having to come up with stories   
to cover up, always worrying about being found out. It stinks."  
  
"No kidding. I feel the same way. I wish we could be together all the   
time, without worrying what other people will think."  
  
"You know, if I tell Brock and Misty, and they accept it, they could   
help us."  
  
"If. It's always if, Ash. If you decide to tell them, if they accept it,  
if, if, if. God, I'm so tired of if."  
  
Ash turned in Gary's arms to face him, then took the other boy's face  
in his hands. "Gary, there is one thing that will never be if, and that  
is my love for you. That'll always be enough certainty for me." With   
that, Ash leaned forward and kissed Gary, gently, reassuringly. Gary   
responded, with relief and a feeling of comfort.   
  
When the two pulled apart, Gary smiled at Ash. "How do you always know  
what to say to make me feel better?"  
  
Ash grinned at him. "I, the great Ash Ketchum, have many talents."  
  
Gary laughed and pulled Ash's cap down over his face. Ash pushed it  
back up, sticking his tongue out at Gary. Then he grinned mischieviously,  
poked Gary, and ran off. "Tag, you're it!"  
  
Gary grinned, too, and ran after him. The two boys played by the lake   
as the sun began to set. As it neared the horizon, Gary caught Ash, and  
tugged him down to sit on the ground. "Come on and watch the sunset. So,  
I caught you, I won, what do I get?"  
  
Ash snuggled into Gary's arms, smiling softly. "How about me, forever?   
Is that good enough?"  
  
"Sato-kun, it's the best thing in the world."  
  
"Shigeru... We'll have to go soon, and I think I WILL tell Brock and Misty,  
but for now..."  
  
"For now, let's not think about that. There's just the lake, the sunset,   
and us. Ai shiteru, Ash."  
  
"Ai shiteru, Gary. No matter what."  
  
  
~owari~  
  
TeenMisty: This is my first Shishi fic! I think it's sweet, but I wrote  
it, so I'm not an impartial observer. I could really use some C&C, here.  
  
Mew: /Please comment. She gets cranky and sulky when she feels   
unappreciated. TeenMisty, I helped you with the fic, can we go play,   
now?/  
  
TeenMisty: I think we both deserve a reward for working hard and getting  
this fic written. Let's go listen to the Pokemon Dance Mix!  
  
Mew: /Yeah!/ 


End file.
